And then there's this bit of deception...
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Capitol police investigate motive behind story
By Casey Ross
Saturday, May 6, 2006 - Updated: 02:16 AM EST
Police are investigating whether U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s bizarre crash-scene story about being late for a 2:45 a.m. vote was a desperate attempt to escape an OUI bust by invoking a law that prevents members of Congress from being arrested while en route to formal sessions, authorities said.
Kennedy, who yesterday admitted an addiction to prescription pain medication, told officers upon emerging from his Mustang convertible Thursday morning that he was “late for a vote,” even though formal business had ended hours earlier, according to a police statement.
“There are a lot of different thoughts as to why he said that,” Capitol police officer Mike Killough said. “We’re looking into what he stated and what other people have to say about what he did that night.”
Killough said police are careful to observe a provision contained in the U.S. Constitution that protects members of Congress against arrest while traveling to and from formal sessions.
The constitutional provision includes exceptions for “felony or breach of peace” - which could apply to Kennedy’s actions, depending on what investigators find - but Killough said cops typically use restraint when Congress is in session.
“You can always take appropriate action afterward, and we have in the past,” he said.
A hostess at the Hawk ’n’ Dove bar, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole, told the Herald that Kennedy was drinking in the hours before cops say they watched his Mustang swerve eratically, nearly hit a police cruiser and smash into a concrete security barricade.
Kennedy said he did not drink alcohol before the accident and instead blamed his actions on a reaction to the sleep medication Ambien and a gastroenteritis drug called Phenergan.
After initially saying he got behind the wheel because he was disoriented and believed he needed to vote, Kennedy said yesterday he has no memory of getting out of bed or crashing his car.
Conflicting statements
U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) seemed to remember a good bit about his Thursday morning car accident on Thursday evening. But by Friday afternoon, his memory was failing.
THURSDAY: “Following the last series of votes on Wednesday evening, I returned to my home on Capitol Hill and took the prescribed amount of Phenergan and Ambien, . . .Some time around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol complex believing I needed to vote. Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication. At that time, I was involved in a one-car incident in which my car hit the security barrier at the corner of 1st and C St., SE.”
“At the time of the accident, I was instructed to park my car and was driven home by the United States Capitol Police. At no time did I ask for any special consideration, I simply complied with what the officers asked me to do.”
FRIDAY: “I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police or being cited for three driving infractions. That’s not how I want to live my life. And that’s not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island.”
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